Happiness is a Loud Hawaiian Shirt
by Titan5
Summary: This is a sequel to Real Heroes Wear Orange in which John learns that what happens on Earth (like orange shirts) doesn't necessarily stay on Earth.


**AN:** This is a sequel to _Real Heroes Wear Orange,_ suggested by Duchess67 _._ She wanted the team to see John in his orange shirt. Thanks to her for the idea and to Rosalee for being my beta. I realized after writing this that Teyla would have been pregnant during this time period. Since this is already kind of AU, just pretend she is NOT pregnant because I don't have the time or desire to rewrite the whole thing to write her out of the mission. The story begins with John's return to Atlantis after his trip home in the original story..

 **Happiness is a Loud Hawaiian Shirt**

John opened the door to his quarters and smiled. Home at last. Almost three weeks on the _Daedalus_ with nothing to do had just about driven him insane. He plunked his bag down on the bed and began unpacking. Once settled, he was supposed to check in with Keller so the mother hen could make sure his arm was back to normal before approving him for duty. By then, his team would have returned from their outing with Major Lorne and they could eat lunch together. It was a testament to how bored he'd been that he was looking forward to afternoon meetings designed to catch him up on the last month.

The knock on the door as he put up his socks caught him off guard. He hesitated a moment and the door burst open to Rodney marching in while talking full speed.

". . . still think that was a monumental waste of my time. I keep trying to convince people around here . . . hey, you're back . . . that my time is better served on Atlantis rather than on meet and greet trading missions with backwater local populations."

Teyla had on her _I'm being patient_ expression as she smiled and nodded toward John. "Welcome back, John. I am sorry we did not wait to be invited in." She glanced at Rodney, who was looking at the stuff laid out on the bed.

John chuckled. "It's fine. I've gotten used to _some_ people having bad manners." John nodded to Ronon. "Hey, big guy. Looks like you did fine without me."

"I watched their backs," Ronon said with a return nod as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

John picked up his empty bag, carrying it to the closet. "I wasn't expecting you guys back yet. Colonel Carter seemed to think it would be closer to lunch."

Teyla sighed. "The Kaleans have decided not to trade. The Genii visited and convinced them we are not to be trusted."

John frowned. "What is their deal?"

"You mean other than them being crazy and power hungry?" asked Rodney.

John shrugged. "Point taken. I've got to check in with Keller in a few minutes, but I'm free after that if you guys want to grab lunch."

Rodney pointed at John. "Yeah, what's with getting shot on vacation? And at a country club of all things. Do you put out ads for villains looking for a place to wreak havoc?"

John arched a brow at the scientist and shook his head. "Hey, this was not my fault. My brother is the one who picked our eating place and I didn't even know the guy that shot the place up. I just wanted to have a nice, quiet dinner with my family. Although if I'd had my gun, I could have prevented most of it."

"But since you weren't armed, you just ran at the man waving a gun and tackled him?" said Rodney.

"I didn't exactly tackle him, but I did take him down." He twisted his arm so he could see the edge of his new scar. "Besides, it was just a graze and it's fine now." Lowering his arm, he jerked his chin toward Rodney. "How do you know so much about it?"

"O'Neill sent some copies of news articles through when we contacted Earth," said Ronon as he pushed away from the wall and walked over to the bed. "Said something about you making the Air Force look good. What's that?"

Rodney closed his mouth where he'd no doubt been poised to complain about Ronon answering his question and leaned forward to peer at the stuff on the bed.

John frowned, trying to figure out what Ronon was talking about. "What's what?"

He noticed the collage of pictures his brother had given him about the same time as Rodney picked it up and said, "Hey, is this your family?"

"That's his brother," said Ronon, pointing to Dave in the large central picture as he and Teyla moved closer. John's stomach dropped with dread as his three teammates stood looking at the picture that included him wearing the hideous shirt from his niece and nephew. In unison, they all looked up, stared at him for a second, and then burst out laughing.

Rodney wiped his eyes and looked back down at the photo. "Nice shirt, colonel. Where did you find that? If you were wearing that shirt, no wonder the guy shot you. You had a big orange target on your chest."

John sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "Daniel and Gabrielle gave it to me, with a little help from their evil father. Then they wanted me to wear it to supper that night. Gabby has some special power that makes you want to do whatever she wants. It's worse than a Wraith queen. . . just not as painful."

Teyla smiled and patted his arm. "Girls have been using these powers on fathers, uncles, and such for many, many years. You are not the first to give in to a young girl's wishes, nor will you be the last."

John rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, well . . . " He shrugged and waved an arm at the ceiling as if that explained everything.

Rodney had been studying the clothes on the bed as they talked. "So where is the shirt, anyway. You'd think something that loud would be easy to spot. You should wear it to lunch."

John smirked. "I was wearing it the night of the shooting. The shirt didn't survive." Rodney looked disappointed, which made John all the more relieved. "So no, Rodney, I will not be wearing it again . . . ever."

"You brother's family is lovely," said Teyla, back to her normal diplomatic self as she took another look at the picture.

"Thanks. Dave and I are actually starting to reconnect, thanks to his wife." John grinned, remembering how much fun they had. "It's kind of nice having family on Earth again." He went through and explained each of the pictures in the frame, the horrible orange shirt all but forgotten.

 _Three months later_

John massaged the back of his neck as he limped along the path back to the gate. He resisted the urge to call for a break in the stifling humidity. Surely they were almost there.

"Gate's just ahead," called Ronon over his shoulder a few minutes later.

"Thank goodness," John muttered as he stepped in a hole and almost went down. Rodney grabbed his arm, keeping him upright. "Thanks." The gate came into view and John fought the urge to collapse in relief. He still had almost half a klick to go. This might just go down as the worst birthday ever.

"Look, I'm really sorry about everything," said Rodney, his head hung low.

John sighed. "Rodney, I told you, none of this is your fault. You had no way of knowing there'd been a lot of rain lately that destabilized the trail up to the outpost. It was just bad timing." Bad timing that the whole side of the trail collapsed under his feet, sending him tumbling and rolling a good fifty feet down a rocky hill. He was lucky he didn't break his neck, or anything else. Just scrapes, bruises, and pulled muscles that would leave him stiff as board tomorrow. And enough mud that he had it wedged in places he didn't want to think about.

"Yes, but I'm the one who wanted to check the planet out and see if the outpost was still here. This was supposed to be short mission. Make sure the outpost was here and worth coming back to explore. See if there was anywhere to put a jumper. No one was supposed to get hurt, least of all you."

John frowned at the scientist. "No one is ever supposed to get hurt, McKay. And what's all this _least of all you_ stuff?" John had assumed they forgot it was his birthday when no one said anything and there was no customary candle in a muffin or pancake at breakfast, which was fine by him. These days, birthdays were another reminder that he couldn't do this job forever and if he lived long enough, he'd eventually get stuck behind a desk. He wasn't a desk-jockey kind of guy.

Ronon and Teyla both shot Rodney a look, but John didn't know if it was because he'd singled John out or if they'd all realized it was his birthday. Or if they were up to something. John narrowed his eyes at the scientist.

"Nothing. I didn't mean anything by it," Rodney blabbered. Rodney was a terrible liar. After several moments of glaring, Rodney finally threw up his hands. "Okay, okay, fine. If you end up in the infirmary today, I lose the _how long can Sheppard stay out of the infirmary_ bet. You've been doing really well lately, so I have you making it another month. Happy?"

John stopped walking. "You people bet on when I'll end up in the infirmary?"

Rodney sighed and rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't be so dramatic. There's a pool on me and Lorne as well. I think people are too afraid to bet on Ronon or Teyla. There's also a _who'll crash a jumper next_ pool. I find that one disturbing because at the rate we're going, we're eventually going to run out."

John pinched the bridge of his nose as he continued walking. "Why don't I know about any of this?"

"Easy. You're the man, so . . . you know. People are a little afraid you'd shut it down, but mostly I think it makes them feel . . . I don't know, like they're getting away with something," said Rodney.

John glance behind him. "Teyla, did you know about this?"

She nodded. "I did, but I do not bet. I certainly do not bet on things like crashing jumpers and people being injured. I think that is unwise."

John nodded. Although he understood her point, he kind of wanted to participate, especially in the McKay pool. Maybe he should just ignore it and act like he didn't know. Somehow betting on things like that just seemed like tempting fate and with his track record, that would probably reach around to bite him in the butt. On the other hand, he could bet on him being in the infirmary soon and maybe that would hold it off until later.

"Finally," muttered Rodney, pushing ahead of Ronon to dial the DHD. John had to admit, he was more than ready to be home. First a visit with Keller to get some Tylenol and muscle relaxers. Then a hot shower and a lazy afternoon pretending to do paperwork. Maybe he could work a nap in there somewhere.

Once his feet hit the gateroom floor, John relaxed. They had been ambushed by the gate too many times for him to drop his guard before they were home. Glancing up at the railing, he saw Carter's eyebrows raise and her mouth form a silent O. Looking around at his team, he realized that while he was the worst, they were all covered in mud and scratches. He flashed her his lop-sided grin and shrugged one shoulder to let her know they were basically okay. As she headed for the steps, he turned to his team, who had been grumbling about the mud behind him.

"Hey, I'll fill Colonel Carter in on our adventures and join you guys in the infirmary in a few minutes."

Teyla nodded. "See that you do. That was quite a fall you had and Dr. Keller will want to check you over."

John grinned at her. "Oh, don't worry, I'll be down in a few minutes. I plan on getting some muscle relaxers and Tylenol so I can actually get to sleep tonight. I'm starting to feel like an old man."

Rodney winced and gave him a weird look before heading for the infirmary. Ronon grunted and shook his head. Teyla patted his arm and smiled serenely. "Do not be silly, John. You are not old. We will see you in a few minutes."

John scratched the back of his head as he watched his team head down the corridor. Carter joined him in front of the gate. "Is everyone all right?"

Dropping his arm, John nodded. "Yeah, we're all okay. There was a narrow path up the side of a steep hill to the outpost. The planet apparently had quite a bit of rain recently and parts of the path were washed out. We were about three quarters up the side of the hill when the part of the path I was standing on just kind of disappeared from under my feet and tossed me down the hill."

Carter nodded as she frowned at him. "I thought you looked a little worse for wear."

John followed her eyes to his forearms and realized they were bruised, cut, and scraped. He looked sort of like he'd wrestled with a bear. He felt kind of that way as well. "Yeah, the ground was rocky with a bunch of sticker bush things, so not a good experience . The rest of them got a little scraped up coming down after me."

"So you never actually made it to the outpost?"

"Nope," John said, shaking his head. "That hill was too steep and too unstable to try to climb back up, so we headed home. We'll have to find another way in."

"For now, you head down to the infirmary and I'll get your recommendations about returning later. I'm glad you weren't seriously hurt," Carter said as she gave him a nudge in the right direction.

oOo

John was starting to get annoyed. He'd been in the infirmary almost two hours now and Jennifer was dragging her feet about letting him go. She had admitted that John's injuries were all superficial – bruises, scrapes, and cuts. There were no broken bones or concussions or internal bleeding. His worst injury was a strained muscle in his back and he was currently lying on an ice pack that was no longer cold because he'd been here so long.

He threw his legs over the side of the gurney and sat up, intending to seek out the doctor and get a straight answer. Grimacing through the pain, he dropped off the gurney. Loud voices caught his attention and he crept forward enough he could see Jennifer's office. McKay had slipped back in at some point and was arguing with the doctor. He could see them waving their arms through the glass, but couldn't hear exactly what was being said through the closed door. Frowning, he edged toward the office.

"Colonel? Has Dr. Keller released you?"

John startled at the voice right behind him, jerking his back. He tried not to wince at the nurse frowning at him. "Mary, I was just going to check with Dr. Keller on what the hold-up was." Mary was almost as tall as John and built like a linebacker. One eyebrow arched at his innocent smile.

"You should get back to your bed. I'm sure Dr. Keller will be over to see you shortly," she said, taking his arm.

John glanced around to see both Rodney and Jennifer staring at him through the glass. He scowled at them and turned away, anger beginning a slow burn. He had no idea what they were fighting about, but if Jennifer had time to argue with Rodney, then she had time to release John. He sat on the edge of the bed, but refused to lie back. John was giving her ten minutes, then he was leaving.

Mary pretended to straighten things up for a few minutes, until she apparently decided he wasn't a flight risk, then wandered off to persecute someone new. At the nine minute mark, almost as if she was aware of the deadline, Jennifer strolled over to John's bed.

"Colonel Sheppard, I was just taking another look at the results of your scan. As we discussed earlier, it appears your back pain is due to a strained muscle combined with the bruising from the fall. There are some microbleeds within the muscle itself, but nothing on a large enough scale to indicate a substantial injury."

John stared at the doctor a moment. "Does that mean I can go?"

Jennifer's expression and body language screamed that she was annoyed. But the way she kept avoiding eye contact suggested she wasn't upset with John, so he decided not to push for information. If the good doctor was angry at John, she'd be lecturing him about whatever it was and threatening him with needles or confinement. They had done that dance often enough that John could read the physician with little effort.

Jennifer pulled a small bottle of ibuprofen from her pocket and handed it to John. "Yes, I'm going to let you go. I know you've had a dose already, but here's some more tablets to help with the pain over the next few days. You're on light duty today and tomorrow. See me tomorrow evening to check on your back and see how things are looking. Continue to ice your back off and on the rest of the day if you want to reduce the swelling and pain. I'll have Mary give you a fresh one on the way out. Come by and swap it for a cold one when you need it."

John resisted the urge to say _finally_ as he shifted off the bed. He pocketed the pills and looked at Jennifer a moment. He'd expected the doctor to offer him a few muscle relaxers after the spill he'd taken. He felt similar to having been in a car wreck and he knew he'd be stiff as board in the morning. Jennifer opened her mouth and then closed it and shook her head.

John frowned and then huffed. He wasn't going to beg for medication. If he was truly miserable in the morning and couldn't get loosened up on his own, he might return then. Maybe she didn't understand how banged up he really was since he didn't break anything.

John moved to take the ice pack from Mary and then waved at Jennifer. "Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow."

"John, wait," she said, taking a step toward her patient.

"Yeah?" For a moment, John thought she was going to either offer him the muscle relaxers or wish him a happy birthday. Then Jennifer smiled and shook her head.

"Nothing, really. Just having a weird day. Be sure to rest and use that icepack."

 _You're not the only one having a weird day._ John nodded. "Will do. Later." He headed down the corridor, walking carefully to avoid aggravating his back. Well, that was strange. And awkward. Everyone seemed off today.

After showering and changing, John leaned against the icepack for a while, checking his emails and typing his mission report. When the icepack was no longer cold, he decided he needed a cup of coffee and a snack. Heading for the mess hall, he realized he'd missed lunch, which explained why his stomach was growling.

Snagging coffee from the fresh pot someone had just made, a muffin, and an apple, John made his way to a balcony table. The sunshine and fresh air coming in off the ocean seemed like just the thing. The mission had been a bust and he'd gotten all banged up in the process. He definitely wasn't getting any younger. His whole body ached in a way that was not promising for the night. On top of all that, not one soul had acknowledged his birthday.

Okay, that seemed a little hypocritical. He always downplayed the day. He didn't want any big party or recognition for his birthday. He mostly tried to ignore them, since the numbers were getting too big and bringing him closer to losing his field job. He didn't like being the center of attention. But he had to admit, he missed his team or maybe Carter or Keller giving him a friendly _happy birthday_ or an extra piece of pie or a pancake with a candle in it. Apparently he wasn't fond of being ignored on his birthday either.

"Figure out what you want and stick with it," he muttered as he peeled the liner off his muffin.

The snack, the coffee, and the pep talk he gave himself made him feel substantially better, so he went to his office and worked on the ever-increasing pile of paperwork. Eventually he helped himself to another dose of ibuprofen as well as another cup of coffee, knowing full well Keller would be telling him to drink water.

"But Keller isn't the one wading through the world's most boring paperwork," he muttered.

"Are you talking to yourself?"

John looked up to see Rodney standing in the doorway grinning at him. He shrugged. "No one else here to talk to. What are you up to?"

"Came by to see if you wanted to join us for supper. I hear we're having something good." Rodney waggled his eyebrows like he'd just divulged some huge secret.

"Yeah, sounds good. When?" John glanced at his watch, realizing he had no idea what time it was. He was surprised to see it was almost 1630.

"I'll come by your room in about half an hour. I've got one more thing to do before we eat."

"Okay," John said. "Or I can meet you guys in the mess."

Rodney pursed his lips a moment and then shook his head. "I'll come by your room and we can go together. There's something I need to run by you."

"Oh, okay. I'll finish this up and see you later then."

Rodney did something that looked like a cross between a wave and a mock salute and hurried down the corridor. John's stomach growled, making him wish he'd asked Rodney what was on the menu for supper.

Twenty minutes later, John walked into his quarters, wishing he'd just asked for the muscle relaxers. The muscles in his right lower back felt like they'd melted together and hardened into stone. As the lights came up, he stopped and stared at the wrapped gift sitting in the middle of his bed. A card propped up in front of it read, "Happy Birthday from your team". He couldn't stop the grin from spreading across his face.

Easing down on the edge of the bed, he grabbed the gift and then hesitated, wondering if he should open it without his team there. He picked up the card and studied it, turning it over. The back said, "Yes, stupid, open it now." Definitely Rodney's handwriting and his attitude.

John tore the paper off and pulled open the box. On top lay another card. This one said, "Wear this tonight". A weird feeling crept over him as he pushed the tissue paper back. "No way," he breathed out. He pulled a button up shirt out. It wasn't the same shirt as his niece and nephew had given him, but it was pretty close. Bright orange with red, yellow, and orange flowers scattered across the fabric. It belonged in Hawaii, not Atlantis. "I'm going to kill Rodney," he muttered, tossing the shirt on the bed.

A knock on the door drew his attention away from his déjà vu moment. Opening it revealed a very smug Rodney McKay, which he had expected. What he had not expected was the shirt he was wearing. It was almost as loud as John's, but with bright blue, white, and yellow flowers. John stood staring, at a loss for words.

"Where's your shirt? Put it on and come on, we're going to be late." Rodney marched past him and picked up the shirt, throwing it at him. John caught it on reflex.

"What's going on McKay? What's with the shirts?" John was even more confused than he was annoyed. "Late for what?"

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Just put on your shirt and come with me. You'll like it. Trust me."

John stared at him a moment and then sighed. "Fine. But that's the last time I let you see vacation photos." He quickly changed into the flowered shirt and left with Rodney. "Where are we going?"

Rodney just grinned. Several minutes later they arrived at the west pier. John couldn't believe his eyes as they walked outside. At least half the expedition was there, probably more. Most of them had on some kind of loud shirt that looked like it belonged on a tropical island. Three different grills were going and several tables were laden with food, plates, and drinks. The edge of each table was ringed with what looked like a giant grass skirt and tiki torches were scattered across the pier.

"Here ya go, Sheppard. Happy Birthday." Ronon handed John a cold beer and grinned. He was wearing a shirt with palm trees.

"Thanks, buddy," he said, taking a huge swig as he tried to take it all in. "Did you guys do all this?" Turning around, he noticed a huge hand-painted banner wishing him a happy birthday hanging over the doors leading off the pier.

"Actually, a lot of people worked on it," said Carter, coming up beside him. "But it was your team's idea." Her hair was pulled up with red plastic flowers that matched the flowers in her shirt.

Rodney tilted his chin up and smirked. "Your brother helped. I contacted him to find out where he'd gotten the original orange fashion statement. We couldn't find any like it, but we thought that would be close enough to suffice. Then we found an overstock place and got a great deal on this stuff by buying in bulk. I think they were just glad to unload all the loud shirts."

A group went by, all of them calling out happy birthday as they laughed and rounded up food. John waved, his face warming at all the attention. He felt guilty that he'd assumed no one remembered his birthday when all the time . . .

John wheeled around and looked at his friends. "That's why everyone's been so weird today. You must have been working on this for hours," he said, gesturing at the pier.

"That is why we went on the mission this morning," said Teyla. "We were trying to get you out of the city and keep you busy." She sighed. "We did not intend for you to get hurt."

John shook his head. "It's fine. Just a few bumps and bruises. No harm done." John tilted his head and rolled his lip under for a second. "So was the betting pool true or just a cover story?"

Ronon chuckled. "There's a pool, but McKay admitting that was cover for almost giving things away."

"Great," John deadpanned as he frowned and turned to Rodney. "What were you and Jennifer arguing about in her office? Was it something about what happened?"

Rodney held up his beer. "I was telling her how we'd gotten some of your favorite beer and she told me you couldn't have any because she was going to give you some muscle relaxers and it wasn't good to mix the two. I told her you'd rather have the beer if given the choice." Rodney shrugged one shoulder. "She kept muttering something about people trying to tell her how to treat her patients. I told her she could give you drugs if she wanted, but I was pretty sure you would be drinking a beer tonight."

"I wondered why she didn't give me any muscle relaxers. That makes sense now." He took a long pull on the beer, savoring the rare treat. "You were right, at least for tonight. In the morning, I'll wish I'd taken the muscle relaxers instead."

Jennifer Keller joined them as John finished his statement, nodding at his admission. "That's kind of what I was thinking," she said with a grin. "Happy birthday, by the way. Come by in the morning if you're hurting and we'll get you fixed up."

John grinned and nodded. "Thanks. I will." As the others continued talking, he looked around the pier. People everywhere dressed in loud, obnoxious shirts. They were constantly throwing him a wave or yelling happy birthday when he caught their eye. He didn't ever remember feeling so welcome or so at home.

He noticed Carter studying him and she moved over to stand next to him. "Penny for your thoughts."

He grinned, knowing she probably understood exactly how he was feeling. Although they hadn't worked together as long as he and Elizabeth had, they got along well and had the military mindset in common. He'd developed a lot of respect for the colonel over the last few months. "I was just thinking how lucky I am. And how this is truly my home."

She joined him in looking across the pier for a moment. "I know what you mean. While I do occasionally miss going out with a team, Atlantis is my dream posting. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to be sure it's real"

John chuckled and glanced sideways at her. "Let me know if you need help with that. I'm a good pincher, although I'm not sure pinching your CO is regulation." She elbowed him in the arm and they laughed. Rodney stopped talking and narrowed his eyes at them as if they were doing something wrong. They laughed again and John leaned over closer to her ear. "He thinks we're talking about him."

"Probably," she agreed.

Rodney huffed and stalked over. "What are you two up to?"

John thought about saying something glib to make the man bluster, but he didn't have it in him tonight. "We were talking about how lucky we are," he said, waving his hand at the pier. Rodney followed the gesture and his expression softened.

"We really are, aren't we?" Two seconds later, he straightened and went back to being Rodney. "Have you eaten yet? We have one grill doing chicken and almost chicken. That one over there is doing burgers and hot dogs. And that smaller one is doing kinda-pork from P3X-112. The tables have sides and fixings. There's a giant birthday cake coming . . . wait, I think that's it. They're early." Rodney ran off toward the door where two people were rolling in a cart.

They watched Rodney, waving his arms and dancing around the cart, probably telling them they were doing it all wrong. It occurred to John that he'd relaxed so much that his back felt better, even though he was standing. Apparently he was just naturally tense these days, even when they weren't in the middle of a disaster.

"I think he wants us over there, or at least he wants you over there," said Carter. Ronon grabbed his arm and pushed him toward where Rodney was waving his hand and yelling at people to be quiet.

John almost dug his heels in and stopped. When he was giving orders, he wanted all attention on him. This was different. He wasn't a fan of this kind of attention and he could feel the heat creeping up his neck. Ronon deposited him in front of a huge cake beside a grinning Rodney. Carter and Teyla joined them to stand at either shoulder just behind him. With a breath, he relaxed. He could face down Wraith and Genii with his team. He could face a birthday cake.

The next thing he knew, the whole pier was singing happy birthday and he was smiling and enjoying it, including several people singing off key. The cake was piece of work. It featured a jumper flying over Atlantis with what appeared to be John hanging out a newly installed side window waving. The top said _Happy Birthday Colonel Sheppard_ and the bottom said _and many more!_. He wasn't sure if the cooks were being silly or everyone was concerned about the number of times he'd almost died.

Rodney plunked a giant candle in the middle as the song finished and lit it. "Here, we're only doing one representative candle since we don't want to catch the pier on fire. Make a wish and blow it out." Rodney looked so happy and sincere that John didn't even feel silly blowing out the candle.

"Let them eat cake," Rodney shouted and everyone laughed. They stepped away as some of the kitchen staff began cutting the cake.

John looked at his friends. "Thank you for this. I don't think I've ever had this cool of a party. And I really didn't see it coming."

"You're welcome. I really thought Jennifer was going to blab everything when we got back." The doctor glared at the scientist. Rodney's face sobered for a moment and he chewed on his lip a second. "You do a lot for this city, for us. We just wanted to show our appreciation some way, you know? We tend to take you for granted."

"And you did it all with loud Hawaiian shirts," John said with a sigh as he looked around the pier.

Ronon laughed. "I kind of like them."

"You would. We had a hard enough time finding one big enough for you," said Rodney. Glancing at John, he said, "You can blame your brother for the shirts. I got the idea from that picture and he helped us get them."

John nodded. "I'll need to think on how to show my appreciation," he said with a grin. And by that he meant he owed his brother big time, not that he'd ever admit to it. "I kind of wish he could see all of this."

Rodney raised a finger. "Actually, I have people taking pictures. We can go through them and pick out a few that don't show anything classified and send them to your brother. He definitely needs to see your latest shirt acquisition."

John rolled his eyes. "Thanks. I think."

"I need to get someone to take a team picture as soon as I figure out where Ronon got off to. Hey, what did you wish for when you blew out your candle?" asked Rodney.

John smiled as he finished his beer, taking another look at the people gathered to celebrate his best birthday ever. "If I tell, it won't come true." Teyla and Carter exchanged a look and grinned at him as if they had a pretty good guess. They probably did.

 _I wish to protect these people and this city so that Atlantis is always our home._ Now he just had to help make it come true.

THE END


End file.
